The Minority in Parliament has accused government of orchestrating what it describes as the ‘biggest recruitment scam in Ghana’s recent history’ following the ongoing recruitment exercise into the country’s security services.
According to the caucus, the structure of the recruitment process resembles a Ponzi scheme crafted to defraud unemployed Ghanaian youth.
More than 506,000 young Ghanaians applied for positions across the four security agencies under the Interior Ministry after the government widely publicized recruitment opportunities.
Addressing the media in Parliament, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, John Ntim Fordjour, stated that these young men and women were made to believe they were being offered genuine opportunities to serve their country and secure a dignified livelihood.
“However, the situation took a troubling turn after the Interior Minister announced that only 5,000 applicants would eventually be recruited,” he said.
According to Mr. Ntim Fordjour, the revelation has left hundreds of thousands of hopeful applicants devastated, disillusioned and feeling exploited.”
“The fundamental question that must be asked is this: If the government intended to recruit only 5,000 personnel, why lure over 506,000 young people into such a costly and emotionally exhausting process?” he asked.
The recruitment exercise covered agencies including the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana National Fire Service, and Ghana Prisons Service.
The Minority criticised the government for increasing the recruitment age limit to 35 years, arguing that the policy shift expanded the applicant pool and heightened expectations among unemployed youth.
Fordjour described the move as reckless and misleading, insisting it created the false impression that government had the financial capacity to recruit far more people.
“Such a decision was reckless, misguided, and intended to create the false impression of sufficient financial clearance to accommodate more applicants,” he stated.
Another key concern raised by the Minority is the GH¢220 application fee charged to each applicant.
According to Fordjour, the government generated over GH¢111 million from the recruitment exercise.
“The government through the Ministry of Interior exploited GH¢220 application fees from each of the 506,000 applicants, resulting in the generation of GH¢111,320,000 from this rather exploitative process,” he said.
He also alleged that the online aptitude tests used during the recruitment process were plagued with technical difficulties that resulted in many candidates being unfairly disqualified.
“The internet-based aptitude test was saddled with challenges that frustrated applicants, with many being timed out barely minutes into the test due to connectivity issues,” he added.
The Ranking Member warned that the Caucus cannot remain silent while hundreds of thousands of Ghanaian youth feel exploited and abandoned.
His side, he said, is backing earlier calls by the Minority Leader for a bipartisan parliamentary investigation into the recruitment process.
“We cannot remain silent while hundreds of thousands of Ghanaian youths are being scammed and treated with such disregard,” he stressed.
The Minority is demanding two key actions: An independent bipartisan parliamentary probe into the centralized recruitment process and a full refund of the GH¢220 application fees to applicants who were disqualified.
“These applicants should not be forced to bear the financial consequences of what appears to be a poorly managed exploitative recruitment process,” Fordjour said.
